Kathmere Capital Management LLC Acquires 800 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,679 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,090,000 after acquiring an additional 50,837 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $639,268,000 after buying an additional 247,630 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.0 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $138.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.59.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.49 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VLO. Citigroup decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.57.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.